Boris Johnson on for hat-trick of wins in Labour Red Wall heartlands with 10-point lead as voters hit polls TODAY
BORIS Johnson is eyeing a hat-trick of historic wins in Labour's crumbling Red Wall heartlands as the Tories head into today's "Super Thursday" elections with a whopping 10-point poll lead.
The Tories are on course for an earth-shattering victory in Hartlepool that would throw Sir Keir Starmer's leadership into crisis.
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And they are also poised to scoop two key mayoral races in the West Midlands and Tees Valley in a triple whammy.
A win for the Conservatives in Hartlepool would be the first time the seat has not been held by Labour since it came into being 38 years ago.
Millions of voters are heading to the ballot box for the first time in two years today after last year's local elections were postponed due to Covid.
Ballots are being cast in every part of Britain, with contests for the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and London Assembly also taking place.
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- Meet the runners and riders in the crucial Hartlepool by-election
- And find everyone who's standing for election in your local area
- Are you allowed to take dogs with you to vote?
- Find out when the polling stations close today
- The new rules around casting your ballot to keep you safe from Covid
- Should you take your own pencil when going to vote?
More than 5,000 council seats in England will be fought over, along with 13 mayoralties and 39 police and crime commissioner positions.
Boris Johnson cast his vote for the London Assembly at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster early this morning.
The PM, who was mayor of the capital from 2008-2016, arrived at the polling station arm-in-arm with fiancee Carrie Symonds.
He emerged two minutes later and waved at members of the press outside the building as he made his way back to his car.
Sadiq Khan is expected to comfortably beat Tory challenger Shaun Bailey to keep his seat in City Hall for another four years.
But elsewhere Labour is facing a make-or-break day, with internal polling showing just 40 per cent support among its previous backers in Hartlepool.
And one recent survey shows the Tories are set to smash another brick in the former Red Wall with a massive 17-point victory in the town.
The leaders of both main parties made final pleas to voters ahead of polling stations opening at 7am today.
Boris said: "It's Conservative mayors who are bringing new investment and local jobs to their areas.
"A new freeport and green jobs are on their way to Teesside and new trams, Metro lines and station upgrades to the West Midlands.
"More has been delivered by Conservatives in four years than complacent Labour politicians have delivered in decades."
Sir Keir stressed that Labour is "a changed party, under new leadership" in an attempt to distance himself from ex leader Jeremy Corbyn.
He said: "We are putting working people and their communities first.
"Your priorities will always be Labour's priorities, with Labour councils, councillors and mayors utterly focused on delivering the secure jobs, safer streets and health services we all want to see."
The latest polling showed Mr Johnson is still enjoying a bounce in popularity as voters credit him for the jabs rollout.
Surveys carried out by YouGov last week suggested the Tories could be on course to take over local councils in both Bolton and Dudley.
Labour sources also fear other traditional strongholds, like Sunderland and Durham, could fall to the Conservatives for the first time in half a century.
But the prime minister, who spent yesterday campaigning in Stourbridge in the West Midlands, looked to calm talk of the Tories snatching Hartlepool.
He said it would be a "very tough fight" in a seat that "hasn't been Conservative since its inception”.
"It's a very tough set of elections. I think when we stood last time for many of these council seats we were at a particularly high watermark, and we'll be fighting for absolutely every vote.”
Other surveys show West Midlands and Tees Valley mayors Andy Street and Ben Houchen are on course to hold their seats for the Tories.
A YouGov poll for The Times in the run-up to the elections put Conservatives nationally on 43 per cent and Labour on 33 per cent.
It also revealed nearly nine in ten voters believed the government had handled the vaccine rollout well
The study - conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday - found 51 per cent of those who thought Mr Johnson deserves the credit for that.
The poll found Mr Johnson was more popular than Sir Keir Starmer, with 40 per cent of people having a favourable view of the prime minister, against 31 per cent for the Labour leader.
Sir Keir was asked on a campaign visit to Pontefract, West Yorks., whether he might have to rethink his leadership approach if the results are poor.
He said: "Well, look, I took over the Labour Party after the worst general election result since 1935.
“We've got to rebuild into the next general election - that is the task in hand.”
Today's elections in Scotland could also mark a major moment in the history of the 314-year-old Union.
Nicola Sturgeon has pledged to forge ahead with plans for a second independence referendum if she wins a Holyrood majority.
The final polls show the contest is on a knife-edge, with the Greens forecast to make big gains but Alex Salmond's new Alba party due to flop.
In her final plea to voters, Ms Sturgeon played down the prospect of an early referendum on leaving the UK, insisting she'll focus on rebuilding the country back from the Covid pandemic first.
But she said "when the Covid crisis has passed, we will give the people of Scotland the opportunity to decide if they want the recovery to be in the hands of the likes of Boris Johnson and the austerity-driven Tories, or to put Scotland's future in Scotland's hands with independence".
She added: "Despite the challenges of the last year, we should be optimistic about Scotland's future.
"With the right leadership I know that we have the natural resources and human talent to deliver the fairer, greener and more prosperous Scotland that we all want to see."
In Wales, First Minister Mark Drakeford may find himself forced to forge a new coalition to stay on in the job.
He could have to enter talks with nationalist party Plaid Cymru whose leader, Adam Price, has committed to an independence referendum within five years if his party wins a majority.
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Mr Drakeford is unlikely to concede a vote on separation as the price for a coalition deal.
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But he has argued for "an entrenched form of devolution" which cannot be rolled back by No 10.
In March he said the UK in its current form "is over" and a new union should be crafted to reflect a "voluntary association of four nations".